Well, like a hot girlfriend with fatal character flaws, I finally got rid of Inara yesterday. The 2006 Pontiac Solstice was a gem to look at, but even on her farewell tour to meet the buyer I was put-off by how loud, uncomfortable, and unpleasant it was to actually drive her. I was reminded of how stupid the steering wheel controls were — all the stuff you don’t really mess with, like the onboard computer readout and cruise control, are on the left, and the stuff you’d play with more often, such as stereo volume and channel/track navigation, are on the right. Putting common controls on the right hand side on an American market manual transmission car is just … stupid.

This will be the first time I am car-payment free since 1996, when I bought my Eagle Talon. My plan is to ride Cylon as much as I can, taking Monty when the weather is bad or I need to haul cargo or more than one person. Hopefully Monty will carry me another 50,000 miles or so before giving up the ghost. By then I’ll have my debt situation under control to take on another car payment. Right now I’m leaning heavily towards the smART car two seater. Muhaha.

3 Comments on "Inara cancelled after one season"

Here’s a really nice writeup from Edmunds.com on the smART car that’s coming to the US later this year as a 2008 model. There will be three trim models, the most expensive (the convertible) topping at around $16000 or so. Expect demand to be high and to pay a premium on the car for the first three or four model years.

The biggest criticism against the smART car is that its fuel economy isn’t astronomical (in the 32 – 40mpg range) to make up for the reduction in size and cargo capacity. The car is something like forty inches shorter than a MINI Cooper, which had crap for cargo room to begin with. If the car got Geo Metro-style mileage, say in the high 40s or 50s, then it might really take off.

For most people, there isn’t much reason to buy this car over a hybrid sedan that offers more a “car-like” environment.